


Tribes of Man

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-07-20
Updated: 2005-07-20
Packaged: 2019-05-30 22:49:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15106433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: I'm addicted to BBC America. That's pretty much it.





	Tribes of Man

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Tribes of Man**

**by: Sophia**

**Character(s):** Josh, Donna  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Donna  
**Category(s):** PWP  
**Rating:** CHILD  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the West Wing, I don't own What Not To Wear, I don't own a lot of things. So suing me is kind of pointless.  
**Summary:** I'm addicted to BBC America. That's pretty much it.  
**Author's Note:** Beta'd by the Incredible Shelley. Much thanks to her for her support. Ummm. towards the end of this we get into both Josh and Donna's thoughts. Those are in single quotes. Hope you guys can follow it. Anyway. Enjoy the fluff. 

"What about Leo?" Margaret narrowed her eyes as she peered over the top of her coffee cup, watching like a hawk as her boss managed to side step two advisors who wanted "a word" (more like an hour) with the Chief of Staff. Like a world-class running back, Leo dodged and weaved and managed to make it out of the bullpen in record time. The redhead could relax knowing, at least for now, her schedule remained intact. 

"Suits You, Sir." Donna, Carol, Bonnie and Ginger all replied at once. That was a no-brainer. 

"The President and Leo can wear a suit anywhere and look fabulous. They just look 'right', all the time." Donna stirred a little more cream into her coffee before motioning with her head towards Ed and Larry as they flew by mumbling about head counts. "What about those two?" 

"Ed has been known to run with the Shiny Suit Brigade from time to time, but for the most part they're both Mr. Non-Descript." Ginger leaned her hip against her desk and let her eyes wander the bull-pen looking for other hapless males to categorize. 

"What are you guys doing?" Rina walked by with her cup of coffee. She didn't want to intrude, but they all seemed to be having so much fun it made her curious. 

"Just grouping the guys into their appropriate tribes." Carol offered a small smile to the new girl. She wasn't opposed to Rina per se. She just didn't know her. And it wasn't like there was a whole lot of bonding time available at this stage in the game. 

"So which one of you is Trinny and which is Susannah?" Rina laughed as she took another sip of coffee. 

"You watch too?" Margaret was ecstatic to have another person to discuss the show with. Everyone blamed her for their new addiction. She'd stumbled across the show while looking for another episode of Nigella Bites for her boss. She made everyone watch and now it was taped and discussed by the Senior Assistants on a weekly basis. 

"I can't stop myself. They're so biting; it's just fabulous? Did you see Trinny shoving sweets down Jane's mouth to get her in a better mood? I thought I'd die laughing." Rina really liked watching the two British women tear down and rebuild other women's style. It always seemed to end so well. And now it seemed she wasn't the only one who watched. 

"Too bad the American version isn't as good. But as long as we get BBC America, all's well," Donna noted as she saw Ryan skidding across the hallway. "Ugh, Market Stall Holder meets Medallion Man. And all that money just doesn't help." 

"The day he comes in wearing Perma-Tan. we'll just have to do something. I don't care who his uncle is. We have standards. I don't understand why he can't do better. I mean he has tons of money and he can't dress himself, while Charlie lives on a shoe string and is every day the epitome of 'Don't Try, Don't Need To'." Bonnie's biting comment was well received by the group as they went back to summing up the men at work and putting them in their little cubbyholes. 

"Well Toby is a Mr. Non-Descript but I think that's on purpose. What about Josh?" Rina tilted her head in Donna's direction and waited for the blonde to answer. 

"Depends on the hour. He bounces between 'Market Stall Holder' and 'Mr. Non-Descript'. There were a few moments of Shiny Suit Brigade when I first started working for him but I burned them and told him the dry cleaner lost them. Sometimes he pulls one out of the bag and becomes a 'Don't Try, Don't Need To' man. But I live in fear of him becoming a Medallion Man. I really do." Donna had spent the whole episode of 'What Not To Wear: Tribes of Man' working her way through Josh's closet realizing that he needed help. He could live permanently in the 'Don't Try, Don't Need To' with just a little help. Too bad he would never let her take over control of his wardrobe. 

"Can't you do something about that? I mean you run his life, don't you?" Only the new girl could ask such a blatant question of the young assistant. 

"Not all of it." A sad smile graced Donna's lips as she finished her coffee and the group broke apart. 

*** 

Josh stay with his back against the wall near the coffee cart and tried to understand what he just heard. It was funny at first, listening to the women sum up their bosses' style into little categories, but then they were talking about him. It wasn't that he was upset about not looking amazing. He knew style wasn't his strong suit. He had nice clothes but he didn't know a lot about how they all went together. He tried to keep things simple. But Donna seemed kind of sad about that little part of his life that she didn't control. 

He thought about it for a few minutes, then returned the long way back to his office so as not to let on that he had heard anything. Once there, he looked up some of the phrases he had heard and found the website of the show they were talking about. Reading up on the different groups of men, he decided he wanted to be a 'Don't Try, Don't Need To'. He wanted Donna to think he looked good. 

"DONNATELLA!!!!" He bellowed from his desk. 

"What Josh?" Donna gave him her patented 'You need to stop yelling. This is the White House.' look and waited for him to tell her what he wanted. 

"You know how we left early last night?" He figured he should ease into this slowly. 

"Yes, Josh, I got to leave early too. So I do remember that." 'After getting another Justice onto the bench, Leo had sent all of us home. I painted my toenails and watched 'What Not To Wear'.' 

"Well I was flipping channels and I found this weird show. I watched the whole thing and it made me think about some stuff?" 'I read the synopsis of the show and about the different tribes. I can fake it, make it seem like I watched it and now want to get some style.' 

"Was it Sesame Street? Did you learn about sharing? If so, I'd still like some of my money back." 'I hope it wasn't something obscurely political that he'll need me to research. I just don't feel like getting dusty today.' 

"Funny girl. No, it was this show on BBC America and it was about how men dress badly. It really made me think about my clothes. Find a day this week where you can clear out an afternoon. We need to go shopping." 'The look on her face is priceless. She's in shock. I love when I just blow her away. I don't get to do it that often. She's usually prepared for whatever I throw at her.' 

"Are you serious?" 'We get to go shopping? I get to dress him? This is a dream come true. I don't believe this.' 

"Yeah, I need some really honest advice. I think I can look a lot better than I do." 'Wow, that was harder to say than I thought it would be. I don't think I look bad but then again I don't really think about my clothes at all. Maybe if they were better, I'd look even better than I do now. That's an interesting idea.' 

"Okay, but isn't there someone else you would want to go with?" 'This is the sort of thing you do with your girlfriend or your wife. I don't know if he understands the intimacy of what he's asking me to do. Pick out clothes that will make him look amazing. That will make even more women look at him as an object of desire. I don't know if I can do this.' 

"Why would I go with anyone else but you?" 'That last comment would make someone who didn't know her think that she didn't want to go. But I know my Donnatella. And, although I can't read her mind as well as she reads mine, I do know that she wants to do this but is afraid of what it means in the larger picture. I, however, am invested in changing that larger picture. And I think this shopping trip can be the step.' 

"I'll go find a good day." 'He's smiling at me and I know it's true. I'm the only one he wants to go with him. Some of my fears drop away. I know I want a future with Josh. I also know if he isn't smart enough to realize what we are to each other, I'm not going to bang my head against the desk over it. We both need to be in the right place at the right time for 'US' to work. Maybe shopping is the first step towards each other. A girl can hope. Besides it's shopping with someone else's money. What sane girl would turn that down?' 

"Thank you, Donnatella." 'I love her smile.' 

"You're welcome, Joshua." 'I love his smile.'


End file.
